Basic History
Georgia’s early settlers included English, Welsh, Scots Highlanders, Germans, Italians, and Swiss. Georgia flourished as a royal colony. After American independence had been won, Georgia was the first Southern state to ratify the Constitution in 1788. In 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union, but was readmitted in 1870.
Environmental History
The state lists 58 protected plants, of which 23 are endangered. They include rattleweed, smooth coneflower, two species of quillwort, pondberry, harperella, fringed campion, and two species of trillium.
Prominent among Georgia fauna is the Virginia deer, black bear, musk rat, mink, common cottontail, species of squirrel. The mocking bird, brown thrasher, sparrows, white ibis, bobwhite quail are the most popular among birds.
Forty three animal species are considered endangered or threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Among these are the bald eagle, eastern indigo snake, five species of turtle, wood stork, three species of whale, red-cockaded woodpecker, and shortnose sturgeon.
Green Initiatives
Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, Green Foodservice Alliance, Georgia College Sustainability Council, Georgia Ports Authority, etc, are offering ways to help Go Green as part of the green initiative.
Businesses looking to offset their carbon footprint based on their natural gas consumption are encouraged to purchase carbon offsets.
The state funds projects like planting trees, landfill methane recovery and renewable-energy projects.
Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority aim at helping individuals, businesses, and organizations reduce energy use with no-cost, low-cost, and longer-term options. Governor’s Energy Challenge is a unique initiative to help Georgians conserve energy.
Keeping Forests in Forests (KFIF) is an environmentally-friendly program that allows to offset carbon footprint by using Georgia’s forests to capture and store atmospheric carbon. Funds are granted to preserve, protect and manage Georgia’s forests.
The Green Foodservice Alliance’s mission is to create and implement sustainable best practices in the foodservice industry.
The Sustainability Council at Georgia College is responsible for identifying and promoting actions and initiatives that will enhance sustainability on campus. Their major program is the Green Initiative, an ongoing effort to incorporate the principles of sustainability and environmental planning into short and long term activities, and to share knowledge with the surrounding community to help make the world more ecologically responsible.
As an instrumentality of the State, the Georgia Ports Authority is committed to conducting port operations in an environmentally sensitive and responsible manner to the extent feasible, practicable and consistent with its overall mission and goals.
